[Jingliu: I want you to find someone for me, a man named Lucian. Put everything else aside for now, he is more important than the Marshal.]
When Luocha received this message from Jingliu, he was very, very surprised.
Why did she suddenly want to look for someone, and even claim that this man was more important than Marshal Hua?
Luocha immediately searched Lucian's name on his phone, but after searching for a while, no such person existed—not even anyone with the same name.
"Unbelievable... For there to be only a single unique name among billions of living beings... that really is quite special."
He did not know why Jingliu wanted to find this man, but since she said he was more important than Marshal Hua, then this man must surely be some figure who could influence the decisions of the Xianzhou Alliance, and perhaps even a hidden mastermind whose information had been concealed.
[Luocha: Does he have some special identity?]
[Jingliu: Emanator of Abundance, Acting Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Cangcheng.]
"..."
Luocha was silent for a moment, then closed his eyes and sighed.
Now he was convinced that Jingliu must have lost her mind and started spouting nonsense.
Forget about this so-called identity as an Emanator of Abundance—just the Xianzhou Cangcheng alone had already been destroyed more than a thousand years ago.
Given that, where did this Acting Arbiter-General even come from?
Luocha couldn't help but feel like Jingliu was simply making things difficult for him.
Feeling that Jingliu was getting truly crazy, he immediately called her.
"Don't joke with me. I can't find any Lucian who is an Emanator of Abundance, much less the Acting Arbiter-General of the Cangcheng."
[Go to the Luofu and ask Jing Yuan. He might have news. If I weren't wanted, I would have gone there myself.]
Upon hearing this reply, Luocha felt helpless.
Still, he couldn't help but notice something surprising.
He didn't know why, but he felt that Jingliu's way of speaking now carried some emotion. Unlike before, when she had basically spoken like a talking corpse, she now seemed like a living, breathing, cold, and aloof beauty with real feelings.
'Strange... What happened to her in just a day and a night?'
In the end, with this doubt in mind, Luocha traveled to the Xianzhou Luofu to conduct 'business.'
===
Xianzhou Luofu, Seat of Divine Foresight.
In a certain corner inside the Seat of Divine Foresight, a tall, heroic man clad in heavy armor suddenly appeared.
"Hm?"
He glanced around in confusion, then his eyes landed on the main table ahead, where a white-haired man sat alone, dozing off.
'Yuan? Wait, why does this kid look so old? Like he's lived eight or nine hundred years...'
Scratching his head, the tall man couldn't hide his confusion at the sight of the white-haired man.
From his appearance alone, it went without saying that this tall man was none other than Lucian's close brother, and also the Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Luofu—or rather, the former Arbiter-General, Teng Xiao.
As for the one dozing before him, he was naturally the current Arbiter-General of the Xianzhou Luofu, Jing Yuan.
Teng Xiao gazed at the familiar surroundings, watching people busy with their work, none of them noticing his presence.
He pondered for a moment before stepping forward toward the main desk and lightly patting Jing Yuan's shoulder.
'No response?'
Teng Xiao raised an eyebrow, pressed a little harder, and gave Jing Yuan's body a shake.
"Mm…"
Jing Yuan slowly opened his dazed eyes.
At first, he only sensed something blocking the light before him, but when his vision cleared, he finally realized a familiar tall man was standing there.
"As expected, old age clouds the mind... I can even dream of the deceased General Teng Xiao now." Jing Yuan muttered absent-mindedly, then shook his head with a faint chuckle. "General, don't worry—when I die, I'll be your lieutenant again."
He closed his eyes once more, preparing himself for the next time he opened them—when he would truly wake up.
Strangely enough, he had just dreamed of someone else.
A man named Lucian, who became his teacher, and who, on his own, perfectly resolved the incident known as the Shuhu Upheaval.
Everyone survived, and all of his friends were still there—alive, together, in harmony.
Unfortunately, it was only a dream—a beautiful yet completely unrealistic dream.
*Pa!*
Suddenly, a palm slapped down on Jing Yuan's forehead, jolting him awake in an instant.
"What the?! Who?!"
Jing Yuan snapped his eyes open, and once again, that familiar tall man appeared before him.
However, the pain he felt now made it clear that this was no dream.
An illusion?
No.
He had been inside the Seat of Divine Foresight the entire time, protected by the highest-level defenses, so even if an Emanator intruded, it would have been detected without fail.
In other words...
"General... Teng Xiao...?" Jing Yuan muttered in disbelief, his expression bewildered. "This... this isn't a dream?"
"You just said I was deceased..." Teng Xiao suddenly grew clear-headed. "Are you saying this is the world in my first memory?"
Teng Xiao remembered the scene where he self-destructed to defeat Shuhu, yet he also remembered Lucian defeating Shuhu with a single sword swing.
Even though Teng Xiao usually acted like the uncle next door, his status as an Arbiter-General was not just for show, so when he heard Jing Yuan say he was deceased, he immediately grasped the entire situation.
Teng Xiao: "Have you seen my brother?"
Jing Yuan: "Brother? You mean... Lucian?"
Teng Xiao: "Yeah, have you seen him or not?"
Jing Yuan slowly shook his head, still looking a bit confused and dazed.
Soon enough, after some exchange, the two finally pieced together what was actually going on.
"Your memories overlap with the dream I just had, and both include Lucian..." Jing Yuan said with a thoughtful expression. "Looks like I've encountered the same situation as Feixiao and Yueyu..."
He quickly and easily accepted the reality of Teng Xiao's revival.
It was only natural, because there had already been a precedent with the Xianzhou Yaoqing, where General Yueyu had inexplicably come back alive and well.
At least for now, this phenomenon seemed to bring no harm.
Jing Yuan immediately reported to Marshal Hua, which led to another internal meeting among the Arbiter-Generals in a special group chat channel.
[Marshal Hua: Everyone, the Luofu has also seen a case of a former Arbiter-General's revival, and this time, it's Teng Xiao.]
[Huaiyan: Oh, this is good news! Now the Alliance's combat strength will rise another level.]
[Yao Guang: Turn on the hologram. Let me see.]
Jing Yuan immediately opened a one-way holographic transmission, projecting Teng Xiao's figure before the other Arbiter-Generals.
[Teng Xiao: My old friends, long time no see, I think? Well, for you at least. Bet you didn't expect me to come back, right? Guhahaha!]
[Xuanquan: Unbelievable, another general revived. Don't tell me this is also connected to Lucian?]
[Yueyu: I'd bet it is.]
[Feixiao: Heh, definitely.]
[Jing Yuan: Yes, it's related to him. I even had a dream tied to Lucian myself.]
[Youwu: Lucian... A good man...]
[Yao Guang: In any case, come to the Yuque first. We'll confirm your identity.]
[Feixiao: Wait, something's happening here too!]
===
Xianzhou Yaoqing, Seat of Merlin's Claw.
A few minutes ago, when Feixiao and Yueyu were still conversing with the other Arbiter-Generals, Moze brought in a foxian woman.
Seeing the foxian, both unfamiliar yet familiar, the two looked at her for a moment before freezing.
It couldn't be helped.
Before them stood none other than the legendary starskiff ace pilot and member of the High-Cloud Quintet, Baiheng—a famous hero written into the textbooks.
In the Xianzhou Yaoqing, there was even a street named Baiheng Street, dedicated to her memory.
"What's your relationship with Lucian?" Feixiao, instinctively realizing what was going on, cut straight to the point.
"Ahahaha…" Baiheng scratched her head with an awkward laugh. "Well... not officially registered yet, but I guess you could say we're a couple?"
Earlier, she had suddenly appeared at her family residence—though her lineage had ended with her, she still had many relatives.
As a result, when her relatives at the residence saw her suddenly appear out of nowhere, they screamed in terror as if they had seen a terrifying ghost, which immediately drew the attention of the Cloud Knights.
In the end, she was brought before the two generals by Moze.
"As expected…"
"Yup..."
Feixiao and Yueyu exchanged knowing looks.
From Baiheng's answer, it seemed she, too, had formed a bond with Lucian in an inexplicable dream.
"If that's the case, then we're family. C'mon, show your face."
Feixiao cheerfully welcomed Baiheng, then pulled her into view of the group chat.
However, since neither of Baiheng's two sets of memories recognized Feixiao or Yueyu, she acted a little reserved.
[Feixiao: Everyone, look who it is.]
As Baiheng's holographic image appeared before the other Arbiter-Generals, the chat immediately exploded again.
[Huaiyan: It really is you, child.]
[Xuanquan: Baiheng—the legendary ace pilot of the High-Cloud Quintet!]
[Youwu: Well, this is worth celebrating.]
[Hua: Feixiao, could it be that she is also connected to Lucian?]
[Feixiao: Yes, confirmed.]
[Yao Guang: Enough talk. Bring her to the Yuque, I'll see for myself.]
Meanwhile, when Jing Yuan saw Baiheng's holographic image, he froze.
It was only natural.
He could not believe that he was actually able to reunite with a long-dead friend!
As Jing Yuan fell silent, looking dazed as he gazed at Baiheng's holographic image, his chief counselor, Qingzu, rushed in, shouting in panic.
"General! W-We just got communication requests from the Xianzhou Cangcheng!"
Upon hearing this, Jing Yuan jolted awake, snapping out of his daze.
"What?"
===
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